SF man operating self-driving Tesla hits, kills pedestrian on I-80, CHP says

A Tesla driver from San Francisco allegedly struck and killed a pedestrian in Solano County early Thursday morning while his car was in self-driving mode, officials said.

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The crash happened just after 2:30 a.m. on westbound Interstate 80 at the Interstate 780 interchange, the California Highway Patrol said in Facebook post. The Tesla’s dash camera, which captured the crash, showed the pedestrian walking onto the freeway from the right shoulder while the car was traveling at 70 mph, CHP said. 

The pedestrian, a 71-year-old man from Vallejo, stepped “directly into the path of the Tesla,” according to CHP, as he crossed the highway toward the center divide. Though the dash camera footage reviewed by officers showed the Tesla braking as it steered to the left, the right side of the car struck the pedestrian, CHP said. 

After the Tesla crash, the pedestrian was lying in the traffic lanes and was hit by another driver, CHP said. The driver of the second car did not stop and has not been identified by authorities. The pedestrian had fatal injuries, and the Tesla driver, a 26-year-old man from San Francisco, remained at the scene, CHP said. 

Anyone with information about the Tesla crash or the second vehicle involved is urged to call CHP’s Solano office at 707-639-5600.

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Scott Heitman, a spokesperson for CHP, told the San Francisco Chronicle that the Tesla driver was not cited after the crash. However, the driver could face charges if the investigation finds that he was negligent, the Chronicle reported. (The Chronicle and SFGATE are both owned by Hearst but have separate newsrooms.)

The crash comes a week after another Tesla driver in California was involved in a collision while their car was in self-driving mode. On Oct. 13, a 22-year-old Sacramento man allegedly fell asleep behind the wheel when he crashed into a CHP vehicle, injuring two officers.